Passion
by Edophe
Summary: The Head Boy and Head Girl are expected to be at eachother's throats, but will they live up to this expectation? Or will they find something in eachother that they haven't found in any one else? T for Language
1. Chapter 1

ONE.

"God it's good to be home." Harry threw himself onto his favourite armchair, Ron doing the same beside him.

"I'm hungry."

"Ron! You just ate about seventeen courses!" Hermione shook her head, laughing.

"Yeah but I'm not eating right now?!" They laughed, the fire cackling away beside them. Harry looked at it and pain welled up in his eyes. Ginny sat down on his knee and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You okay?" she whispered in his ear. He nodded. Ron pulled Hermione onto his knee and kissed her neck, snaking his arm around her waist.

"Stop it, Ronald. Not the time, or the place."

Ron looked up, "Huh?" and Hermione nodded her head towards Harry who sat very still, staring at the flames.

"I keep expecting him to walk in and yell SURPRISE! You know? Like it was all a big scam... All summer in Grimmauld Place, every time I turned a corner I thought I was going to see him. Kreacher thought I was going nuts."

They were quiet for a moment. Hermione glanced at the clock above the fire place. "I'm sorry Harry. I'd better go. Professor McGonagall is meeting me and the head boy and showing us to the Heads' Common Room..." She stood.

"Has she told you who it is yet?" Ginny asked.

"No. She keeps refusing to tell me... I'm so curious!"

"You were the obvious choice for head girl."

"I would've thought Harry would've been head boy, though."

Harry shook his head. "It was one of the first things I said to McGonagall once it was all over. I told her I didn't want to be anything next year. Quidditch captain, yes. But not head boy. She did that knowing smile and head-nodding thing she does."

Ron leaned in, obviously confused. "Why didn't you wanna be head boy?"

"I'll see you all later, sleep well!" Hermione took off at a run across the room, down the steps and across the school. McGonagall was already there, waiting.

"Ah good, Miss Granger. We'll just wait a moment for Mr M- " She stopped herself. "Our new head boy to join us."

"Professor, can you tell me who it is? I've been trying so hard to work it out but next to Harry, there just doesn't seem to be - " she froze solid as a familiar figure approached them. Sauntering across the foyer was none other than the famous blond haired, grey eyed -

"Mr Malfoy, good. We'll be off then." Professor McGonagall took off at a quick pace, leaving Hermione and Draco to glare at each other. "I will not linger!" She called. They quickly followed behind her.

_Malfoy. _Hermione glanced at him, just to make sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. _A past Death Eater? Head Boy at Hogwarts? He'll start his own dark arts club or torture first years or something!_

"I hope you two are looking at how to get there! It's a little trickier than most places around the school." McGonagall had stopped and was tapping the wall with her wand. "The pattern is one, two three, pause, one, two, pause, one. Understood?" Hermione glanced around her, taking a mental snapshot of where she was in the school, and nodded. She couldn't bring herself to look at Malfoy. The wall shuddered like rubber and with a quick "pop!" a door appeared.

"Your things are in the bedrooms. Ms Granger on the right, Mr Malfoy on the left. Good night, both of you. See you at breakfast." McGonagall handed them their timetables, and departed.

"I'm not stupid enough to turn my back on you for one second, Malfoy. You go in first." Hermione looked up, daggers in her eyes. He shrugged, and entered, Hermione behind him.

"Oh wow." It was a tall room, only a little smaller than the Gryffindor common room, with hangings representing the four houses in each corner. There were two desks, side by side, two arm chairs by the fire, two very puffy couches on either side of a coffee table and two magnificent stair wells, each presumably leading up to the bedrooms.

Draco let out a low whistle. "This is nice."

Hermione didn't respond.

"Aye, Mudblood."

"What did you call me?" She turned to him, only becoming more aggravated when she saw that he was laughing.

"I was just checking you could hear me."

"You know, pureblood is much more of an insult these days, Malfoy."

"I don't particularly like being referred to by that name." He pulled his chest up.

"Did it ever occur to you that I don't like being called mudblood?"

Draco paused. "Sorry."

"What?"

"I've changed my ways, Granger."

"Just like your father did when Voldemort fell the first time, huh."

Malfoy pulled out his wand, quick flash. "Don't tell me I'm like my father."

"You're a spitting image."

"I'm nothing like him."

"Oh different right down to the dark mark on your arm," Hermione was furious. Draco looked like he was about to kill her.

"Go on, Malfoy, kill me. Or are you not man enough to say the words?"

He moved his arm and instinctually Hermione pulled out her wand and disarmed him in one fluid motion. Draco's wand flew across the room from Hermione's charm but he didn't stop looking at her. He had pulled up the sleeve on his robe to show her a gaping wound right where the dark mark should have been.

"You don't know how painful it was to get rid of, Granger."

"Malfoy, don't try -" But he cut her off.

"For the last time don't call me Malfoy!" He turned on his heel and, with his robes billowing behind him, he left the common room and slammed the door of his bedroom. Hermione looked around, bewildered. Did Draco Malfoy just show a little emotion? His wand was still lying at the base of the stairs, so she picked it up on her way past. She knocked tentatively.

"Fuck off, Granger."

"Your wand is outside your door."


	2. Chapter 2

TWO.

Hermione loved her room. The windows opened out over the mountainside and in the distance she could see Hagrid's cottage. There was a queen sized four poster bed, a desk, a dressing table and a full length mirror. The bathroom was fantastic: a large bath with taps that gushed out lush, multicolored bubbles, a strong pressured shower, and a bathroom cabinet with the most amazing extent of supplies. Placed carefully on the bench was a book called "Magic and Herbs for Make Up and Hair", and she had a good read through it before falling asleep that night.

Her eyes opened slowly, first morning as Head Girl. Her robes were pressed and hanging over the chair beside the desk. After showing, she slipped them on and packed her bag for the morning. She left her room, only to bump into Draco on the way down. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, exposing his very nicely defined chest and abs, his hair was messy and wet and he looked very, very nice.

"Morning." He said, haughtily.

"Hi." _Don't check him out. He's Malfoy. He's horrible, awful, rude, evil..._ He gave her a weird look and turned around, going back into his room. Hermione shook her head. She walked to the Great Hall and sat down between Harry and Ron, her mouth still slightly dry.

"So who is it? We've been guessing all morning." Ginny leant across Harry.

She swallowed. "You're not going to like it."

"Goyle?" Ron laughed. "Oh come on Hermione, it's not like it's going to be Malfoy or anything."

Hermione didn't look at them. She pulled some cereal over and started eating. The other three were staring intently at her.

"Hermione... It's not Malfoy, is it?"

She only nod. "I have to room with him!" Tears were welling up in her eyes. She hadn't realized how confused she was, how terrified she was at the thought of living with someone who had worked for Voldemort, who had nearly killed Dumbledoor. Someone so evil, so dark, so cruel, yet so undeniably attractive...

"What happened?"

"He got really angry when I told him he was like his father. Saying that he's nothing like him and then he showed me his Mark -"

"I told you he'd still have it, Harry." Ron interjected. "You can't get rid of one."

"No..." Hermione looked up. "He doesn't have one. He just had a big gaping wound where the mark should have been."

Ron and Ginny looked at each other, shocked.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"You can't just, get rid of a Dark Mark." said Ginny, "It's not something you can just cast a simple spell to get rid of."

"You can't even do magic on it." Ron put in.

"So how do you get rid of one?" Harry leaned in too.

"I'm not telling you while I'm eating." Ron put his head down and shoveled food into his mouth.

"You have to cut it out. It's the only way it'll come off. We got told about it when the Dark Ones were ruling over Hogwarts, before the real war broke out last year. People die trying to get it off."

"Seriously? That's revolting!"

"It's dark, Hermione. If Draco hasn't got a mark anymore, it means he put a metal knife into a fire to heat it and carved it out of his own arm."

The four of them looked at eachother.

"That's awful."

***

Hermione was shattered at the end of the day. N.E.W.T classes drove her crazy, there was so much to learn and she craved to understand it all. One two three, one two, one. The door popped into visibility and she swung herself into it, getting across the room in two strides and collapsing onto a couch. For a while, she didn't move.

"Tough day, Granger?"

Draco was leaning against the back of an armchair, watching her. Hermione sat up, looking at him.

"You've got red eyes. You've been crying." It wasn't a question.

"I have not!"

She tilted her head to one side, scrutinising him. "You have."

He was silent for a while. "You care?"

"I need to ask you something, Draco." He looked up when she said his name.

"What?"

"You're not going to like me asking it."

"Then why ask?"

"Why didn't you kill Dumbledoor?" She spat the words out, the words that had been haunting her thoughts for so long. Expecting him to hex her, she pulled out her wand, looking up. Draco hadn't moved, he was looking at the floor.

"You know what, Granger. I've often wondered the same thing myself. It was so simple, just say the words. Avada Kedavra!" There was a flash of green light, and a spider flipped onto it's back. Hermione was too shocked to make a sound, or move, but she could only stare intently at the spider.

"The problem is that I didn't want him dead. I knew the spell would be too weak to kill him so I couldn't do it. I was trying so hard to psych myself up when I realized something..." He stopped, "What the fuck? Why am I telling you this?"

She paused. "I asked."

He sighed, and pulled the armchair around to face her. He threw himself into it, running a hand through his hair. "You're the only person who has."

"People can be full of surprises, can't they."

He continued, as if there hadn't been a break in their conversation. "I realized that maybe there was more to life than killing people. Maybe that muggle-borns and half breeds and other magical creatures weren't lower than us. And suddenly... I thought of Dobby."

Hermione couldn't help but snort with laughter. The idea: Here he was, about to murder one of the greatest wizards of all time, and he thought of his ex house elf. The black humour nearly killed her.

"Dobby?"

"He had so much... personality. My father was so high and mighty, always saying that we were so much better, so much higher, how creatures were merely the scum of the earth. I remembered all the times when Dobby had been the one to give me potions when I was sick or hurt, and Dobby was the one to play games with me or look at the stupid things I drew. Never my parents. As I got older I learnt how cruel I could be to him, how he would torture himself, how he would always be faithful. How does that make him less worthy of fair treatment?"

Hermione didn't know what to say. The Slytherin King, the arrogant young man famous for his cruelty, was getting close to pouring his heart out to the girl he despised? Draco looked up, as if he had just realized where he was and who he was talking to.

"That goes no where." Hermione snapped her eyes to him, and saw that his wand was pointing at her. The menacing look in his demeanor was back.

"No where." She repeated, keeping her eyes level. She didn't feel afraid. He lowered his wand, his eyes dropping to the floor. He put his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes with the base of his palms.

"You called me Draco," he murmured.

She laughed "Well, that's your name isn't it?"

"Is it?" He had a funny expression in his face. "I'm going to bed."


	3. Chapter 3

THREE.

They bumped into each other as they came out of their bedrooms the next morning.

"You're up early," he commented.

"I could say the same thing to you."

"I have to get that damn potions essay done before first period."

"I just like mornings."

He laughed, and Hermione laughed too. "Breakfast?"

She nodded. "How's your potions essay going, anyway?"

"Terrible." They walked along the corridors together while Hermione talked him through the complexities of the variations in truth potions. It was as if they were friends, even, he listened in a way that was respectful.

"You explain things really well,"

"I hang with Ron. He... well, he's not the smartest kid on the block. I've got used to simplifying things."

Draco's eyes darkened. "You're still dating the Weasel, then."

She stopped walking, and made a distance between her and Draco.

"What do you mean by that?"

He turned his face away from her, and shrugged. "Nothing, Granger. See you later."

"No, Malfoy. Tell me what you meant."

"Don't call me Malfoy." He stood with his feet slightly apart and lifted his chin, drawing himself up.

"You call Ron 'the Weasel', and I'll call you Malfoy over and over again." She, too, lifted her chin, "I don't get you, Malfoy. One minute your sweet as honey and the next minute your back to you cold, selfish self."

"Do NOT call me Malfoy."

She leaned towards him, leering. "Malfoy."

"Better than a good-for-nothing mudblood."

"Is that the best you can do, Malfoy? Try to insult me because of my blood? I'd have my type over yours any day, you despicable, disgusting, seflish, self-righteous, in-bred pure-blood." She spat each word at him.

He was glaring at her with eyes filled with hatred. "I'm not like the rest of the Malfoys."

"No? Then how can you stand there with so much hate in you? Why could you throw out the killing curse like it was nothing to you?"

He crossed the distance between them in one stride, wrapping his hand over her mouth. Puting his lips to her ear he whispered, "No-one needs to know about that, Hermione," and he instantly vanished into the swarm of people heading to breakfast.

"You've got a red mark on your jaw."

"I must've slept funny, you know? My hand was numb this morning, it must have been under my head all night."

"Oh, kay." Ron shoveled more food into his mouth as Harry and Ginny sat down beside them.

"Hermione, you've got a red mark on your face... Woah, is that a hand print?" Ginny leaned in to get a closer look, but Hermione clapped her hand over the mark. "It's nothing. Must've slept funny. I have to go, got a... potions essay to finish."

"But you haven't eaten?"

"I'm not hungry." Hermione ran from the Great Hall, hand tightly clamped over her jaw.

Ron sighed. "Girls. I will never understand them." He went back to eating.

Harry and Ginny exchanged dark looks. "That was a hand print, and it wasn't because of her sleeping funny."

"Do you think Malfoy could've... hurt her?"

"Judging by her reaction, I'd say so." Ginny looked around. "Oh, look at Malfoy's face!"

Malfoy was looking livid. He was sitting very tall, peering over all the heads of all the students, watching the door from which Hermione had left. For a moment, he looked frozen, but suddenly stood up and sprinted from the hall. Harry stood, wand at the ready, but Ginny grabbed his arm.

"No. I'll go." She stood up and followed Malfoy. Ron finally looked up from his plate, and realized that both the girls had gone.

"Where'd they go?"

"Ginny went to... see if Hermione is okay. You know, girl thing."

"Oh," said Ron, as he grabbed a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Hermione!" Draco followed her closely, grabbing her wrist. She spun around and slapped him square across the cheek, fear in her eyes.

"Don't touch me."

He gasped in pain, and made eye contact. "I'm sorry."

Hermione backed away slowly, finally turning and running away from him. "Hermione!" He called after her. He watched her go, and turned to find himself face to face with a very fiery red-headed girl.

"What do you want with her?" Her wand was pointing at his nose. He noticed that it wasn't shaking.

"Ginny... you've gotta help me."

"Help you?! Why on earth would I help you?" She inhaled. "You've done nothing but torment me all my time at Hogwarts, you insult my family, my best friends, the way I live my life! I hate you!" And Ginny Weasley turned on her heel and stormed away. She took seven steps before she turned, and what she saw nearly blew her mind.

Draco Malfoy had his back against the wall and was sitting with the base of his palms rubbing his eyes.

"You have to help me because I'm falling in love with her."

"Bullshit."

Draco didn't move. "I know what this must sound like. I know who I was and I don't expect anyone to forget that or forgive me... I haven't even forgiven myself... But I'm losing control, Ginny. I don't know how to control this feeling. I can honestly say I have never felt like this before."

"She's dating my brother!"

"Then why isn't he the one standing out here yelling at me for upsetting her?"

"He -"

"He doesn't love her, Ginny. You must see that. Unless he's snogging her, or asking her to do his assignments, he barely notices she's there. Have you noticed that?"

Ginny was speechless. Of course she knew, how could she have ignored the way her brother treated her best friend, but to have it pointed out by their enemy... "I hate you Malfoy. I hate you so much."

"Please don't call me Malfoy. I'm not a Malfoy any more. I'm not like them, I don't... I don't want to be like them anymore."

Ginny's head was spinning. Draco Malfoy was begging her for something, imploring for her help. After a long pause, Ginny finally spoke.

"Fine. I'll help you out. But you know as well as I do that if you ever do anything to her, you'll have more than just me to deal with."

Draco very slowly looked up at her. "I could never hurt her."

"Then how did she get that hand print on her face?"

"I lost control... I didn't mean to hurt her..."

"Well you need to start getting back IN control, Malfoy - Draco - Acke! Whoever you are... Because you obviously don't know your own strength. Now bloody hell, get to class will you? Leave me alone for a while."


	4. Chapter 4

FOUR. - one week later.

The letter was in his hand as he walked the broken steps up to the owlery. His head was down, and he nearly walked into some-one.

"Sorry," he mumbled, stepping to one side as to let the person pass. The person didn't move.

"What did you do to my girlfriend." The voice was low, threatening. Draco looked up, coming face to face with Ron.

"I wouldn't flatter yourself and call her that."

"Excuse me?"

"Come off it, Weasel. It's not like you love her, or anything! No, she's just good to have around so that you have a chance to pass some of your classes and have a good fuck every now and again."

"Oh, and you're the love expert now, are you Malfoy?"

"I've seen the way to treat her. Since first year, Weasel, you've done nothing but treat her with disrespect, you stop talking to her for stupid little things, she spends hours crying in the corridors because of you, Weasel. So don't tell me that you love her because it's obvious you don't!"

"Has it crossed your slimy, pathetic mind that you are the disrespectful one? Her blood, her friends, her family, her life? Do you remember that, Malfoy? Or has this act you're caught up in convinced you otherwise?"

"What act? There is no act?!"

"You just want to fuck her, don't you Malfoy. It's probably a game you've got going with your Slytherin buddies, isn't it! You sicko! You vile, disgusting, pathetic excuse of a wizard!"

"You know nothing. You know NOTHING about me, my life, my friendship with Hermione - "

"Oh Hermione, now, is it? You've stopped calling her Mudblood?"

"Of course I have!"

"All part of the game plan, I assume?"

"What do you take me for?!"

"A dark wizard, Malfoy. That's all you'll ever be."

"How dare you!"

"Go on then" Ron was leering at him, "Hex me, like the Dark wizard you are. You're just like your father."

Draco's whole body was shaking. He could feel the blackness pumping through his veins and in his ears was the ringing of a whispering voice _It's so easy to kill, Draco... Just say the words... Avada... Kedavra... _Sweat was pouring from his forehead, his shaking hand was edging towards his wand... _Oh! You want to have some fun before you kill him... What fun, Draco! Crucio... Crucio..._ He could feel the handle, the cool power from beneath the wood... _Oh Draco the fun we'll have... All these Muggles to play with! _And then suddenly, as if all the lights inside his head had been switched on, all he could see was her. Laughter around her throat, her frown, the way she carefully explained things, the way she would listen to him... His heart burned as he remembered the way she walked, the rare smile she gave him... From far, far away, Ron said something, did he yell it? and Draco felt a weight push into his chest and he was falling...

Draco opened his eyes to find himself looking at the sky, splayed over the steps to the balcony. His head was aching, was he hexed? There were footsteps hurrying away from him. He tried to remember... he had been talking with someone... Why was he going to the owlery in the first place? He very slowly lifted his head, but yelled out in pain, and put his head down. The sky was spinning above him, and he closed his eyes. Eventually the queasiness passed, he slowly stood up, grunting in the heavy-headed pain that weighed down on him. He limped down the steps, hoping to get to the hospital wing before he blacked out again.

Hermione had written a letter to her parents, and was walking very slowly to the owlery, when two rather odd things happened. Firstly, Ron ran passed without so much as a hello. From the momentary look she got at him, he had a sickened and slightly worried look on his face. A minute or two later, Draco limped passed. He was moving very slowly and appeared to be in pain. Hermione couldn't bring herself to help him... She slowed for a moment as they passed, but walked briskly on her way down the cold corridor and up the winding steps to the owlery. She stepped on a stray letter, and she picked it up. Written in very neat writing on the front was "_Narcissa Malfoy_". Hermione couldn't resist; she slowly unfolded it.

_Dear Mum,_

_I've fallen in love. Her name is Hermione Granger, she's a Gryffindor. Yes, she's Harry Potter's friend. Yes, she's dating one of the Weasley boys. I don't know what to do, Mum. I can't shake the guilt, I can't eat or study or sleep, I just think about her and the war and Dumbledoor's death is playing over and over in my head. I don't want to live anymore, Mum. I can't get rid of this dirty feeling in me. I hate the way I was a part of it. I don't want it any more. Help me. Please. I love you._

_Your son,_

_Draco._


	5. Chapter 5

FIVE.

Hermione was shaking. Love? Draco loved her? But it all made sense then, the way he'd been acting. The more she thought about it, the more it became clear in her mind. He didn't know how to control it, he wasn't used to not having what he wanted. She remembered the way they'd walked to breakfast together the last time they'd talked. He was respectful, kind, even. Her mind was racing as she ran down the steps from the owlery. It was remarkable, really, when she thought about who he was before the war. Maybe he still had a long way to go, but he'd come so far... He could change. He was changed, and was continuing to change.

Hermione was focussed on one thing: finding Ginny. But Ginny had a habit of being in the place where she needed to be found, and Hermione ran straight into her at the base of the steps leading up to the owlery.

"Ginny! Thank goodness I found you." Hermione was breathless, for some reason she was extremely happy. "I'm going to break up with Ron." The words were out of her mouth before she could think about them. She heard them in her own voice, when she hadn't even thought them, and she realized that that was exactly what she was going to do. Yes. Break up with Ron.

"Okay, take a deep breath, and tell me what's going on?"

Hermione breathed in, and the air seemed to slow her insides. She regained her composure.

"Read this." Hermione passed Ginny Draco's letter, and Ginny read it, nodding.

"Come with me."

The two girls walked for a while, coming to a bench-seat underneath a tree nearby.

"A week ago, when you came into the Great Hall for breakfast, you had a mark on your jaw. You didn't eat, you were hostile, I knew something was up. You left, Draco left, I followed. I watched what happened, once you ran off, I confronted Draco. He collapsed onto the floor and told me I had to help him because he was falling in love with you." Ginny looked at Hermione. "You know me, after living with my brothers for my whole life, I'm practically lie-proof. I know boys and I know when they're lying and he was not lying." Ginny stopped, sighing.

"He didn't stop there, either. He pointed out something I'd been trying to ignore for ages now. Ron doesn't treat you well. I love Ron because he's my brother, but I'm not happy with how he treats you... You two could work so well but Ron's not ready for that. Ron's not really ready for anything. He's a great guy..."

"But not a great boyfriend." Hermione finished.

"Yeah, exactly. Draco cares about you, I can see that. So I'm all good with you ending it with Ron and going with Draco. I think it's the right thing to do right now. You know, maybe in a few years, if you and Draco don't work out, you and Ron will get back together. But I dunno. I just want you to know that I'm all good with it."

"Thanks, Ginny. That means so much to me." They smiled at each other.

"You're my best friend, Hermione. You're like the sister I never had, and I'm grateful, so I have to make sure my brothers treat you right."

***

"Ron, we - I - we need to talk." Hermione stuttered. She'd missed the Gryffindor common room but tonight it felt cooler than it had before. Ron, Harry and Ginny had settled down with their books surrounding them, and Ron didn't look like he wanted to move.

"Okay?"

"I mean, privately. We need to talk privately." Hermione was shaking from head to foot. Her stomach hurt, she felt dizzy.

"Aww but Mione, I'm so comfortable here, you know these two know everything any way..."

Hermione looked at Ginny for support. "Ron, get off your lazy arse and go with Hermione."

But he didn't want to move. "Fine then, Ronald. If you want me to say it in front of everyone, I will." She took in a deep breath, the whole world shaking around her. "Ronald, I'm breaking up with you."

It was as if God had pressed a pause button. There was complete silence, Hermione didn't look around but she was sure that everyone was looking at them. Harry's jaw dropped, and he glanced at Ginny, who nodded knowingly, and then he looked at Hermione, to Ron, and back at Ginny.

"What?" Ron said.

"Let's be serious, Ron. I'm not going to pretend this is working anymore. For me, it's not. I love you, but nothing more than a brother."

"This is because of Malfoy isn't it?! The scumbag! Hermione, can't you see he's using you for something?"

"For what, Ron? His grades?"

Ron's mouth dropped open, but no words escaped. There was no reply to give. Eventually, Hermione turned and left the room, a very odd feeling of serenity washing over her.

***

As anticipated, Draco was in the common room. He was lying beside the fire, his hands behind his head. Beside him was a large glass vile of a rather unpleasant coloured potion. Hermione sat down in an armchair, watching him. A long while paused when neither of them spoke.

"I think we need to talk." His voice was low, and he kept his eyes closed. "I had a small arguement with your boyfriend."

"Ex-boyfriend."

"You broke up? I'm sorry to hear that."

"No you're not."

Draco smiled, "Are you sad?"

"That depends." There was a pause. "I found the letter you wrote your mother."

Draco let out a long breath. "That's right. I went to the owlery to post the letter."

Another pause. Draco appeared to be thinking. Finally, he spoke. "Oh, I remember. That was the letter in which I had told my mother how I had fallen deeply in love with a particular muggle born witch, who happened to be the epitomy of perfection." His eyes were still closed, he didn't see Hermione blush. "That was when I bumped into Ronald."

"Oh? And what did he have to say for himself."

"Nothing out of the ordinary, simply how I was a Dark wizard and I was no better than my father."

"You know that's not true, Draco."

"I nearly killed him, Hermione." His eyes opened and he was looking at her as if his gaze shot straight through her. "Do you know what it feels like? You can feel the spell inside your veins. It's in your body, in your blood, it consumes your thoughts. It's like your whole body is the spell. You want to cause so much pain, so much destruction. Then it's so easy... You can just mutter the words and some-one else will be in so much pain, will be dead, even." His breathing slowed again. "And then I thought of you."

"Not Dobby, this time." Hermione laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Draco's lips didn't quiver.

"I thought of you and that feeling just vanished. I thought it had gone that night with Dumbledoor but it came back... I knew it had... I killed that spider so easily... too easily. You... I don't know what it is, Hermione, but I don't feel like I'm living in hatred anymore. I feel... well I feel shit because of this blasted potion. But I feel much better internally. I don't want to kill stuff anymore."

"What potion is it?"

Draco thought for a moment. He could tell her that Ron hit him with a nasty curse, but what would that prove? "It's an infection. My arm." He hoped that would be enough to make her stop asking, and it was. He heard her move off the armchair and walk closer too him. She lay down beside him, and whispered in his ear.

"Don't take me for a fool, Draco. I can see the after affects of a hex when I see one."

Draco rolled over to face her. Hermione looked up, staring into the deep grey eyes that were sheltered by blond hair. She reached up and brushed his hair off his forehead, losing herself in his eyes. Her whole world had fallen into place. I'm in love she thought, and his lips were lingering nearer and nearer to her own. Her stomach was quivering with butterflies and she lifted her face to meet his. But Draco turned away.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I can't. You've shown me such kindness... I can't... I don't want you to be dragged down by me. This sounds so pathetic," he laughed, a short, hard breath, "But it's true. I wouldn't dream of subjecting you to this, of what I've become. I have no backbone, I'm..."

Hermione shushed him with a kiss which exploded her senses. Her body was on fire and his was too, their hands were running over each other's skin, the entire world had stopped apart from this moment: this glorious, glorious moment. Finally, they broke apart. "Draco," Hermione started, their eyes locked together, "Draco... I want to help you. I am want to show you the goodness inside yourself. You haven't been shown a world that is filled with love. I can give you that. I can because I love you, and if everyone else knew who you are now, they would love you too." Their fingers were intertwined, their eyes locked. Draco tried to speak, but the emotion clogged his voice and he could only nod.

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**This brings to an end my first Draco+Hermione fanfic. The chapters have changed around and had bits added to them for this final draft, so re-read if you like! Reviews are great, by the way, and I'll nearly always reply! :D**


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